free hand drawing
As someone used to drawing quick sketches of maps and nit confident producing computer generated maps I wondered how everyone regarded hand drawn maps? Having said this I have been spending today working on one
Many of us do hand-drawn maps, some do painted maps - there are hand-drawing tutorials here. The majority of members probably use digital tools more often than hand-drawn work. I often create hand-drawn digital hybrids using color fills, bevels, shadows, feathering, bump effects and labeling to finish it, especially for professional commissions. Nice work in your post. You should post a larger version as an attachment so we could see the details in the work.
GP
Gamer Printshop Publishing, Starfinder RPG modules and supplements, Map Products, Map Symbol Sets and Map Making Tutorial Guide
DrivethruRPG store
Artstation Gallery - Maps and 3D illustrations
I think most people here have an appropriate amount of comprehension and appreciation about the craftsmanship of a hand drawn map. The reason for digital is more about convenience and ease of editing rather than some sort of aversion to hand worked stuff. Whatever gets things done, the method doesn't matter so much.
There was a video post here somewhere where this guy did a time lapse of him drawing these huge perspective maps of giant cities (Ha! I found it here, it pays to comment on things you like!). There the artist specifically uses the difficulty of hand drawing something of that scale to add power to the piece. It would have been just as difficult to do digitally I imagine, but would definitely have lost a major portion of the awe that made the pieces wonderful.
Hello Simon! I am new here too. I was asking the same questions when I joined up as well - I do all of my map work by hand. I have recently acquired an excellent set of drafting pencils and other materials and am going to work in earnest. I dont know what it is, but theres something very satisfying about rendering the maps by hand. I say do what you love - do what feels right. But yeah, the whole hybrid thing is awesome too. I do all my sketches in black and white, pencil on paper. Then you can scan it and put it into some editing software (GIMP for example) to add further texture and color. Or just leave it black and white - theres some beautiful maps out there with no color and plenty of detail. anyway, looking forward to seeing more of your work! ill be posting some WIP soon too, probably after the weekend.
Endyr
you can do hand drawn digital maps. It's all a question of the equipment and hardware you have. There are a range of tablets that Wacom makes you can get. They even have the Cintiq line of monitor tablets. That's what I use, the Cintiq 22HD touch.
Either tablet or monitor, you have a stylus with which you draw with. All my maps are made via a combination of digital and scanned elements. But in the end, I draw every mountain, hill, river and letter. Does it matter if you are using a crayon, pencil, brush or stylus? I seldom use filters, because they tend to leave a signature that eventually you can spot. At most, I use color correcting more than filters.
And there's a range of software too. Painter is my preferred program. But it takes a lot of experimenting to start to understand it. I don't recommend it for the casual person. Get photoshop and find some good brushes.
There are lots of advantages to working in what I call a digital traditional method. The main one being able to correct, or adjust as you go along. Being able to test things out, without having to start over or figure out how to correct it. Doing hand lettering is much easier, as you can lay the text out and then draw/write over that, then delete the layer below.
it all comes down to what you want to do and how much you can afford. My monitor cost $2500. But I'm a professional illustrator, that works digitally, so it's for my work. I wouldn't suggest it for the casual user.
And yes, post a bigger, nicer shot of that map you are working on. It looks very interesting.
I love doing hand drawn maps! There is a lot involved. I tend to screw up doing the computer programs and I have tried several. If I want a quick Dungeon, I can use the programs but, I still do my entire drawing my hand first anyway. I like to make sure I am getting what I want into the dungeon before I try doing a computer program. I also scan in my maps now so I have them available on my tablet or my laptop when at game.
Stormie
Ultimately, whatever we choose to use is just a tool. As artists, we use what we are comfortable with to get the job done.
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